michelle my belle

christmas decorating & yummy cookies!

getting a bit of holiday cheer going on.
it's feeling good.

inspired by this lovely lady to make the decorating itself a bit more of a special event.
really tho- i thought cocoa and cookies might just get my kids (16 & 11) to stick around and want to decorate with me...
without it being a fight or me guilting them into it.

and it actually worked!
so simple. i guess i never read the "decorating with kids" manual.

these were the cookies we made.
inspired by no other than pinterest and ultimately sprinkle bakes.
ours didn't turn out near as cute as hers.
a lot more red food coloring next time!

my first attempt at henna

in my free time... that i don't really have right now-
i grabbed some henna from a local indian grocery and went to a friends salon to do some henna doodling.

i did some quick research online and then set off, attempting not to make too much of a disaster.

it took a while to get the feel for it.
not to mention, i was totally nervous about messing up on a complete stranger.




out of convenience and lack of time i bought the premixed packaged stuff.
i got to see a few of them the next day and they weren't quite as dark as i was hoping.
next time i'll probably try to mix my own paste from henna powder.

anyone know of a good place to order it from by chance?

stick stars, holiday decorating & craft

getting a bit crafty around here.
and on the cheap.
i think these stick stars will make an awesome window display... we'll soon see.
was inspired by this and this.

so far, a little more time consuming than i had counted on.
the story of my life!

mainly house remodel stuff

my weekend was filled with lot's of soccer (my youngest-not myself!), returning emails, family dinner and house remodel stuff.
the one kinda crafty DIY thing i did - was spray paint an outdoor light fixture.
i found some killer ones i really, REALLY wanted on the barn light electric site but, they were going to be about $200 ea. oy!
i think we have like 10 of them around the outside of the house... cha-ching!
so to lowe's we ventured, and found this-

definitely not as cool as barn light electric's...

but with a couple coats of spray paint...just beautiful!
and at savings of about $187 ea.
i think i can deal.

this is a cabinet we found that we're in the process of making into a vanity for the guest bath.

and my $3 shade i found at junkyard bonanza!!!
also going in the guest bath.
it's getting close! 2 weeks & counting.

hope you also had a great & productive weekend. happy monday to you!

stairs. stairs. magical stairs!

i am absolutely dying to show you the colorful and fun stairs project!
and... the paper is STILL on them from painting the trim. ugh.

therefore, here's a mediocre picture taken right before installation.
...the look will also change once the stair treads are on.

the quote is by john maxwell.

i super-duper love them!
i'll make sure to show a finished picture too.
promise.

warning: i'm so excited about these, you may well get sick of seeing them in all my pictures!

super love pinterest

i am totally hooked on pinterest!
it is pure eye candy like you've never seen before.
and such a great way to save inspirational & creative ideas!
below are few examples of my boards.

are you on?

can i just mention...this is sounding REALLY good to me right now.

cute & colorful popcorn balls

i love to look back at what i was doing at this time last year...
like, for one, i was making these super cute popcorn balls.
super easy to make and fun!


hope you are having a wonderful weekend.
may i suggest a game of spongebob uno? :)

colorful hand painted stairs

it feels so good to actually take creative inspiration and turn it into action!
i can't say that i do it very often. 
i'm always just trying to keep up with the "have to dos".
painting these stairs is solely for the purpose of FUN, and it has just completely invigorated me!

after 16 hours, through the night! (hence the poor picture quality!)
i finished at 8AM!
i haven't pulled an all-nighter in quite sometime... well, besides when traveling back from china.

it was a much bigger project than i had reckoned.

quite thankful to have done them on a table/floor rather than in place, attached to the stairs!
i think that would be a real bugger. and back-breaker.

the water and a bazillion brushes were probably cleaned at least 4 times!
for me that is some pretty serious painting time.

oh, i forgot to show you these fabulous stairs that i saw while in london last year!
unfortunately i can't remember the equally sensational shop they came from. :(

i CAN. NOT. WAIT. to show you the stair risers installed!!!!
they are going to look fan-tab-u-lous!
soon, very very soon!

major stairway inspiration!

some of you may already know this...
we're going to be moving soon. (i'll share more about that at a later date)
and there are stairs in the new place that lead up to my home studio.
much thanks to pinterest i've been uber inspired: stenciled stairs, wallpapered stairs,
rustic stairs, colorful painted stairs, artsy stairs. oh my!

1. stencil gallery  2. color between the lines  3. claudio paillalef  4. apartment therapy  5. style files 
6. french by design  7. pinterest

picture via the style files

oh to decide what direction to take!
so many fun choices...
do i go pretty? colorful? artsy? modern? simple?

and off i go...
my work cut out for me.
16 mdf stair risers and a lot of paint!

The Creative Connection - Junk Bonanza

the first morning in MN for The Creative Connection, a few of us jetted just outside of Minneapolis to the Junk Bonanza.
my friend Leigh of Curly Girl, who was also the one who recommended TCC, said Junk Bonanza was a must.

lovely Leigh, camera in hand.

surprisingly, the prices were fair.

i only had my 50mm fixes lens so my shots were limited to pretty close up.
some of these displays were so cool, i wish i could have captured them better for you.


if only my last name began with R!!! LOVE this!


my scores.
i plan on using these old locker baskets in my mudroom.
and isn't this letter A the coolest!!! and only $18. a steal.

we all agreed that paying $25 for the early bird pass was worth it.
not having to fight the crowds and getting first dibs was a nice way to go.